Use This Project

Give a Shout Out

Thing Statistics

6617Views1607Downloads

Summary

This is an adjustable camera mount for an ordinary paint pole. The pole is used to get your camera up high above the ground without kites, balloons, or expensive toy helicopters. All for the cost of less then five dollars! This will allow you to take photos easily at a height you cannot reach. The photo of the Mini Cooper shows the difference between a eye level shot on the street and the second shot using the paint pole camera mount. The camera is a small hand held digital with a ten second timer so it gives you more than enough time to take a photo. But any camera with a timer should work fine. The pole used for the second car shot was only four feet in length imagine what a 12 or 15 foot pole would be like.

Instructions

The paint pole camera mount was made at the QC Co-lab hackerspace in Davenport Iowa using a MakerBot 3D printer. Along with the files that I here to print out the 3D parts, you will also need the following hardware parts. One 1/4 x 3/4" bolt, one 1/4 X 2 1/2" bolt, one 1/4 x 3" bolt, four 1/4 inch washers, one 1/4 inch wing nut, one 1/4" nut and two self tapping screws. Assembly the "U" shaped part (Tilt mount 2) to the cup and stud using the three inch bolt with washers on both ends and a nut to hold it together. (See exploded view image) Insert the "L" shaped part (Tilt mount 1) between the upper arms of the "U" shaped part making sure to have the square end horizontal with the entire assembly. Run a 1/4 x 3" bolt through the aligned holes and secure with a washer and wing nut on the opposite end. The squared end is where the camera is mounted using a 1/4 X 3/4" bolt that is inserted through the bottom of the square end of the "L" part and into the camera mount. The 1/4" bolt worked fine on my camera as this seems to be a standard size for a camera mount. Insert the assembly stud inside your paint pole and the cup on the outside of your paint pole. These may have to be test fitted and sanded before assembly. You should remove the normal roller mount found on a paint pole and attach this assembly on to the pole. Use two self tapping screws to hold the camera mount to your paint pole. The wing nut bolt assembly going through the "U" and "L" parts can be loosened so that the camera mount can be adjusted to tilt the camera up or down as desired when shooting photos. Be careful to make sure the wing nut is secure before moving the pole around to take a photo. Also when bringing your camera down from any height take great care as it could easily be damaged if you drop it on the ground.

1 KG or 2.2 pounds? Wow that is a lot of weight to be moving around on a pole that could be 12 or 15 feet above the ground. Not sure I would want to be handling a camera that weighed that much on the ground much less up in the air. I think the mount is plenty strong to handle the weight of say a digital 35mm camera or a small video camera. Anything larger than that would be difficult to control if there were a good breeze blowing on the day you are shooting. A safety line would be an idea along with a platform below the mount so that you could rest the camera and pole assembly on the ground and not have the camera touch the ground. All good ideas for the next version.

As far as hitting something with your camera up in the air that is a possibility that no one would want to happen. But it does and that is a risk you take when you put a camera up in the air on anything be it a pole or balloon or RC helicopter. Another risk if you do use a long pole is the possibility of hitting a power line with your camera. Advise anyone using this mount to use a non conductive pole to avoid that type of danger. Would make for a VERY bad day.

Show Some Love

We're sure Davecc would love to see what you've printed. Please document your print and share a Make with the community.

To post a Make simply visit this Thing again and click I Made One to start uploading your photo. It’s even easier to post a Make via the Thingiverse Mobile app (available via Google Play and Apple App Store).

Show Some Love - Tip Davecc

Let Them Know

Message sent!

We're sure Davecc would love a Tip, but unfortunately they
have not setup their accounts to receive them yet.

We can let them know you were interested. Simply click the button below
and we'll pass along a note to them.